Could Texas Longhorns Rest Isaiah Bond vs. Vanderbilt Ahead of Bye Week?

Texas Longhorns receiver Isaiah Bond has been dealing with an ankle injury.

Zach Dimmitt | Oct 24, 2024

Oct 19, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns wide receiver Isaiah Bond (7) celebrates after securing a two-point conversion against the Georgia Bulldogs in the third quarter at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Patzke-Imagn Images / Brett Patzke-Imagn Images

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AUSTIN -- Texas Longhorns receiver Isaiah Bond battled through an ankle injury headed into last week's game against the Georgia Bulldogs and played in the 30-15 loss, catching a touchdown and a two-point conversion while finishing with just two grabs for 11 yards.

After the loss, Texas Longhorns on SI saw Bond as he walked off the field toward the locker room and there was still a slight limp in his step. Sure enough, the team listed him as questionable on Wednesday's initial student-athlete availability report, making his status one to monitor as No. 5 Texas gets set to visit the No. 25 Vanderbilt Commodores in Nashville on Saturday.

When meeting with the media Thursday via Zoom, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian admitted that there's a "fine line" is deciding to rest Bond with the team's second bye week coming after the Vanderbilt game. Texas will have a week off before hosting the Florida Gators on Nov. 9. If Bond sits against the Commodores, he'd have two full weeks to get healthy before the final stretch of SEC play.

"You answered the question for me, there's a fine line in trying to figure that out," Sarkisian said.

Bond originally suffered the injury in the 34-3 win over the Oklahoma Sooners on Oct. 12. He's yet to miss a game this season. Through seven games, he leads the team in receiving yards (380) and receiving touchdowns (four) while being second behind tight end Gunnar Helm in catches (23).

Though Vanderbilt is certainly not an easy win this season compared to years past, the Longhorns could benefit from resting Bond on Saturday in order to keep him fresh for the remainder of the 2024 campaign. Though he's made a case as the team's top receiver, Matthew Golden and Ryan Wingo are more than capable of stepping into lead roles in Bond's potential absence.

No. 5 Texas and No. 25 Vanderbilt will kick off on Saturday at 3:15 p.m. CT.